dot-art: DEAD BOSS. Jefferson Waters

Self taught, multi-disciplined artist Jefferson Waters has taken Scouse sayings as starting points for a series of paintings that takes a humorously literal look at Liverpudlians’ unique turns of phrase.

Jefferson worked in high-end interior design in London for over twenty years for some of the most prestigious clients in the world. His work hangs in locations as diverse as Burgh House in Hampstead, the Italian Embassy in London, Le Cirque in New York and numerous private collections across Britain. After noticing the difficulty that some clients had finding and choosing appropriate art for their interiors, he established a bespoke painting service working to the colour palette and scale of each individual room and enabling him to respond to commissions in an interesting and exciting way.

The artist recently moved to Liverpool, where his lifelong love affair with drawing was reawakened. The primitivism of childrens’ drawings that still fascinates him, naming Basquiat, Marlene Dumas, Jean DuBuffet and Francesco Clemente as heroes; he tries hard to celebrate the energetic irony of this style of painting in his own work. He became fascinated with the phrases used in everyday conversation in the city, and their potentially double meanings. Jefferson describes the work as “a warm-hearted acknowledgement of the city’s individuality and its innate ability to convey complex meanings in a short-handed language all its own.

He says: “’Dead Boss’ of course means something is great, not that work-place homicide should be taken literally. My favourite expression is ‘Head the Ball’ which is a wonderful description for any wild and radical character who aims a little higher in the enthusiasm stakes when it comes to making a mark on the world, or the more serious ‘Working Your Head’ which takes literally the sensation of listening to people we suspect of hidden agendas and what they may be telling us. Finally ‘Town’ is a tongue in cheek representation of the quite bewildering array of great faces that we see in our streets in Liverpool, each with a story as individual as themselves”